Some Have It Good

This evening I was feeling a bit down due to the fact that most of us in my Physics class have no idea what's going on at the moment. So while walking along and wondering what on earth was going to happen to me on this next test, I called up my brother to complain a little. Now, my brother is a nurse, and after I told him what was going on in my schooling he proceeded to tell me what was going on in his.

After a few minutes of conversation that would not be appropriate to post on this blog, he wrapped up his talk with this advice: 

"Well, Graham, if you're ever feeling down about physics, just be glad you're not wrist deep in part of someones body."

And suddenly the day was better.

Man After God's Own Heart: Part II

A bit shorter this time.

A few more aspects gleaned from chapters 18 and 19 of I Samuel. It says many times in these chapters that David "behaved himself wisely." Wisdom is crucial to a man after God's own heart, for God Himself is wise. He IS Wisdom. Wisdom would be the practical application of all that trust in God that you have. In fact, trust in God is essential for wisdom. In James, it says that we must ask for wisdom, but we must ask in faith. We have to trust that God will give it to us like He said.

"Behaved himself wisely." Why would it say this? Well, could one think of wisdom as knowing how to behave in any given situation? The Bible has all of these answers and is the only source of wisdom. So this is what we see: A man after God's own heart trusts God and is wise. Because he trusts God completely and views Him as his only source of any good thing, then he will recognize God as the only source of wisdom and diligently seek for it in His word like Proverbs says he should do. Also, he will ask for wisdom and believe that God will give it to him (again, complete trust). As a result, he will gain wisdom and will know how to handle himself in any given situation. He will be able to behave himself wisely.

What a great system.

The Reality Check

So, the other day, I was sitting at my computer and congratulating myself over the little cello and violin duet I had composed. In all seriousness, it really was nothing special, not even a whole page. But it looked so nice and professional, thanks to Finale Notepad2005, the program I used to transcribe it. And when Finale played it for me, in all its MIDI file glory, it sounded very nice. 

I was preening.

Then I see a link to a site where other Finale composers can go and upload their creations for people view and listen to and so on. 

"Well," I smugly say to myself, "since I really and truly am a composer now, I guess I should head over there and see what's what."

I log on, and do you know what I find?

I'll tell you.

A magnificent, seven movement symphony that is hundreds of pages of music and takes my breath away when I listen to it, MIDI sound or no. 

That someone just thought up.

Preening = end.

A Man After God's Own Heart: Part I

In my recent studying (the kind that matters) I have been focusing on David. The Bible calls him a man after God's own heart, and I want to find out what that means. Because that is the type of man that I want to be. So I'll be posting what I'm learning a little bit along for you to read and think about. This first post is really long. Just a warning.

In my first readings, I am struck with how often it says "The Lord was with David." I want the Lord to be with me. I want to feel Him leading and directing me. so I decided to study David and find out what it was that made him a man after God's own heart, and then seek to copy those characteristics. I don't think it is just one thing that gave David such a title, but rather the whole person that he was.

I have been reading the Psalms for weeks now, and the first thing I have learned comes from these poems, most of which were written by David. The entire first half of this book is one long cry out to God. David trusted God completely, and saw Him as his only source of strength, guidance, and protection. Whenever David was faced with a trial, his first reaction was to go to God for strength. When confronted with enemies, David cried to God for deliverance instead of trusting in his own strength and skill in war. Over and over again David refers to God as his Rock, his Strong Tower, his Strength and Deliverer. He knew where his protection was, he knew that strength could only come from one place.

So here I think we have the first characteristic of a man after God's own hear: complete trust in and reliance on God. A man after God's own heart must make god his first line of defense in a trial instead of a last resort. god must the his only source of strength and wisdom. Any advice received from man must be evaluated in light of God's Word and instruction.

Does David show these attitudes in his life and not merely his poems? Is there action along with the pretty words? There is. The earliest account of David shows us how he acted as a result of his trust in God.

The story of David and Goliath is one that everyone knows, but it is a story that is rich with teaching. When David comes to the battlefield, he sees the giant taunting the army of Israel, and the "men" of Israel fleeing in fear. David is confused. Why has no one gone out and killed this Philistine? He is defying the armies of the living God. Why are these men afraid? Aren't we God's chosen people? Will He not fight for us?

David was willing to go, to fight. When Saul told him he could not because he was "just a youth", David responded by telling the king that he was not trusting in his own strength. He tells Saul of how God had already delivered him form a lion and a bear before this, and David was trusting in that same God. Listen to how he says it:
"The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."

Was Goliath and more dangerous than a lion or a bear? Was he somehow too big of a challenge for God? David didn't think so, and so strong must have been this show of faith and trust, that it convinced King Saul and he let David go. But first he tried to arm him with the weapons and armor of man. David put them off, however. Why? He said, "I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them." What a statement. What did David go with? What had he proved? God. God had proved Himself in that wilderness with the lion and the bear, and that was all the proof that David need to trust in Him completely. I Thess. 5:21 says we are to "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good." David was holding fast.

So do you see how we need to follow this example? God has already proven Himself to us. You might not remember being saved from a lion or a bear, but we have an even better and surer proof than David did: the cross. This is where God proved Himself once and for all. Because of the cross, we can say boldly when we face our own giants " The Lord which delivered me out of the paw of sin and out of the paw of death, He will deliver me out of the hand of this trial that I am facing."

This is why David trusted in God, and this is why we also can trust in Him.